Pseudo-Hebrew

Pseudo-Hebrew is the artistic use of symbols meant to appear like Hebrew script but that are not in fact Hebrew letters.^[1][2][3] The related phenomenon of the use of actual Hebrew letters in ways that do not represent actual language may be called "nonsense Hebrew".^[1] Gary Schwartz, an art historian, notes that the use of pseudo-Hebrew in 15th-century art is not distinctive, as other works of the time also contain pseudo-Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.^[4]

Pseudo-Hebrew script on the bustier of Jan van Scorel's Maria Magdalena, 1530

History

In medieval European artworks, faux-Hebrew was used in paintings to identify and portray Jewish people or as a reference to Jewish people, often in a negative light. Following the Renaissance, the frequency of faux-Hebrew increased in artworks and was often used to signify its status as a Holy language for Christians.^[5]

See also

• Faux Hebrew
• Pseudo-Kufic
• Pseudo-runes